New Student
by bobkitty1123
Summary: When Daniel notices a new student in class, it changes his perspective on a few key things in his life. Somewhat Kate/Daniel. One-shot.


**A/N - **There needs to be more Perception Kate/Daniel fanfiction. Get on it people!

Disclaimer: I don't own Perception.

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Daniel Peirce was in the middle of teaching his psychology class when he noticed a new addition to the class.

It was a young woman with brown hair and blue eyes. She wore a barely-there top with sequins. It was hardly appropriate for a college class. Most of his students, being graduates, wore more professional clothing or if they did dress casually it was suitable for the environment. Glancing over the girl one more time, he scrambled for his roster. He had never seen her before—he would remember her—and he knew every student on the list. She wasn't on it.

"I'm sorry, miss. I think you're in the wrong class." He said across the room to the girl. She looked around a moment and the pointed at herself. "Yes, you. You're not on my list. What's your name?"

"Meghan Kiley." She said clearly.

Suddenly there was a hand on Daniel's shoulder. He turned to face Lewicki. "There is no one there, Professor Peirce."

Daniel glanced over the confused and shell-shocked expressions of his students. He was careful to hide his condition from those he taught. He was terrified that if everyone learned of his paranoid schizophrenia he would lose all credibility with his students and in turn the University.

"Excuse me." He announced, turning to leave the room.

When he turned to the doorway, he saw Kate standing there, looking in. She wore the same incredulous expression as the students.

Panic overcame Daniel and he practically ran from the room. Kate shouted after him but he was already outside and running across campus. When he got far enough away from the classroom, he sunk onto a bench, shoving his headphones into his ears. Turning up the music as loud as it would go, he lost himself in the song. It was comforting.

Minutes passed. His heart rate decreased to normal and he was feeling calmer.

His mind cleared somewhat and the first thing that came to his mind was that he could lie. He could try to claim he was demonstrating a serious mental illness so that they had an idea of what it was like. But Daniel's students were too smart for that. He'd have to tell them everything about his condition—something he didn't want to do.

There had to be another way.

There wasn't.

"Daniel?" The voice was muffled by the music but was unmistakable.

He sighed and tugged out his ear buds, turning to face Kate. She looked concerned as she studied his face. What was she looking for? A sign of his craziness perhaps?

"Are you okay? You ran out of there pretty fast." She asked.

"I…uh…" He stammered, unsure of what to say or do.

He was silenced when Kate reached over and took his hand in hers. It felt strange, the contact. She was usually very careful to keep her distance from him. It wasn't because she didn't want to get close, but because she didn't think he wanted anyone touching him. In this case, when he didn't pull away, her confidence was bolstered.

After another minute, Daniel said, "I just didn't want them to find out that way."

"Daniel, your students already know." Kate said.

"What?!"

"Yeah, it's listed on your Wikipedia page, , and almost any other article concerning you." Kate told him, laughing quietly at his bewilderment. "Haven't you ever looked yourself up on the internet?"

He shook his head, still speechless.

"The only reason they reacted that way is because seeing your condition like that is a lot different than reading about it."

Daniel pulled his hand from Kate's and buried his face in his hands. He was so disconnected from the world sometimes. It bothered him—the things he missed in lieu of his condition. He would notice every detail from the latest case but would miss the meaning of a simple hand gesture from a colleague because he was so unversed in social interaction.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted that way. I was just…caught off guard." She told him, rubbing his arm encouragingly. "You should really go back. They're going to think you're ashamed of it."

Daniel nodded and stood, ready to head back. Then he stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to Kate. "Oh wait, you showed up for a reason. What is it?"

"Nothing that can't wait." Kate said off-handedly. She stepped up to him, rose up on her tiptoes and pecked him on the cheek. "Now, get back to class before you students take the afternoon off."

When he returned to the classroom, he held his hand over the place where Kate had kissed him. The daze that she left him in didn't derail his explanation. Lewicki nodded for him to continue. He cleared his throat and said, "As most of you already know, I have schizophrenia…"

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**A/N - **Awww...over so soon. So sad. :( Review.


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